ONCE IN A WHILE IT’S IMPORTANT TO CLEAR OUT YOUR GLORY-HOLE

HELENA GOLDWATER

I began with only the knowledge that I would wear my red sequinned dress, a trademark of my performances, and that I would work with five meter lengths of hair, as well as the width of the performance space. There was also a large safe embedded in one wall. The premise was based on duration; I would perform for up to four hours per day for seven days. For me, this was an especially innovative way of working, as it’s unusual for me to have this amount of time to perform. I usually plan a performance in its totality; on this occasion I made the work as I went along. The process became episodic, a series of revelations about the materials, much like making a drawing.

The hair was placed in separate bundles filling the safe. I began by pulling one strand out at a time, laying it on the floor on the opposite side of the room until several strands formed a line. Then, I placed one end of a bundle in my mouth and pulled it from the safe until it fell onto the floor. I dragged it, dropping one end from my mouth to one side of the room, lining it up using my index finger to tread along the hair as I went, ensuring each end reached the wall. I repeated this until all the hair was on the floor, resembling a ploughed field. I stood by the safe looking, as if at the horizon, at my next task, which was to spread the hair out, gently forming a carpet covering the floor.

Once I completed this task, I pulled a single strand at a time from the nearest hair to the safe, wrapping it around my hand, forming loops, and placing them on shelves until each shelf had small lined-up treasures of hair. I then used my head to sweep the carpet of hair up against the far wall until it was all gathered. I picked up one end and dragged it all back into the safe. Once secure, I had to reach back for one amount of hair, which had remained on the floor. The hair in the safe had attached itself to the sequins on my dress and so as I pulled away it resembled a living organism trying to hold on. Eventually, I managed to reach the hair on the floor that I added to the safe, and after disentangling myself, I closed the safe doors and left the room.